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A frustratingly hit-and-miss experience

I will begin by saying that I am not a particular fan of Yu-Gi-Oh, but I don't think even blind fandom would have kept me from realising this game's flaws. It isn't all bad, but it's wildly uneven and surely not what fans would want.

This is a nutty game, for sure; Yu-Gi-Oh is a complex and highly involved card game that has an intricately connected series of cards that can be played against each other, resulting often in expected consequences. For newcomers like myself, it can seem a tad cumbersome, but rest assured that the in-game HUD is pretty good at streamlining things and making it clear what has to be done. There aren't any flashy technical terms, and by and large your hand is held through it, but that's not to say it's totally painless.

Less entertaining is when you're not engaged in card battles, though, and the game descends into an uninvolving "adventure" where you walk around and talk to people, trying to coax them into either playing you or teaming with you. To try and change things up, there is also a tag mode, but there's no viable option (at least that I could find) for you and a friend to play, meaning you're forced to team up with a CPU to play two OTHER CPUs, making it an oddly alienating experience.

Visually, the game, expectedly, is pretty naff; the animation quality is very low, as is the texture quality. Given that the majority of the game is about strategy and cards, it isn't so important that it's not a visual spectacle, but something a bit more flashy would have been nice.

The card premise works pretty well, but the surrounding areas are lacking polish and feel totally underdeveloped. The lack of online gaming is disappointing, both local and wide, and on a technical level it feels very bland and flat. Given how smart the card game idea is, though, I wouldn't rule out playing another title.

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Great Game to play especially if you are into Yugioh!

Introduction:~~~~~~~~~~

Yugioh has finally hit handheld version for the PSP as the new title Yugioh GX is available to be purchased around your local stores.For all the gamers who do not know what Yugioh is, here is a brief outline of what the game holds for you (For Yugioh Fans, skip to the next section).

Yugioh was a TV show about a boy (Yugi) who's grandpa mysteriously gets hold of one of the Millenium Items which grants the user great outstanding abilities. Only a chosen one is said to be able to awaken and utilise such power. Well the young boy Yugi surprisingly is the one of the chosen ones and he utilises one of the millenium items to turn into an alter-ego of an ancient pharoah who once was the King of Games. In this world, players form decks from cards they collect and challenge others to what is known as Duels. In a duel, each player has 8000 Life Points and utilises strategic play of your deck and cards to beat away the opponents Life Points. Thats the basic gist of what the game involves. However, this edition is not from the origin of Yuigoh but rather the later edition/ series/ Story Arc.

This Arc features a different Main Lead Role known as Jadai Yuki (there are different spellings for his name littered around the internet such as Jadan, but we will use Jadai Yuki for this review). Jadai is a Duel King wannabe and he enters the Duel Accadamey in hopes of becoming the best. However due to unfortunately incidents, he ends up in the Silfer red Dorm (which is the lowest rank) and spends his usual life beating Academy students and professors as well as defending pieces from the Evil ones. This defending and fighting is through Duels like mentioned before but this time this storyline featured Many New cards and strategies to overcome your opponents.

Gameplay:~~~~~~~~~

The Gameplay to Yugioh GX Tag Force is slightly different to the usual Yugioh games that we all know. Firstly the edition of the new cards that feature in the TV show are all included in this version. There is an immense number of cards both new and old in the database to choose from which results in an almost infinite combination of Decks. So choose your cards carefully if you want to be the best. Obviously, there are the staple cards (cards which belong in every Deck as they are so versatile and good) as well.

Secondly and here is the main difference, Yugioh tag force utilises a 'Tag' System. Here players can switch between team members during an actual Duel. The switch even lets you change ur whole current playing Deck as well. Hence in a duel, you have two members on your team (including yourself) and two different decks to use. With this added to the system of dueling, you can now become even more powerful by being able to boost your own powers with even better cards that wouldnt of normally function in your own deck.

The Duels are pretty smooth in the sense that the gameplay flows and duels normally dont take that long to finish.Storymode is quite satisfying and takes a while to complete as you will need to boost your own power by winning and obtaining random new cards to beef up your deck and advance through the stages. Sometimes you are constantly grinding through a particular player in hopes of obtaining Rare Powerful cards and then using them to Win the Duels and move onwards.

Graphics:~~~~~~~~

The graphics are particularly good in this game compared to the previous Yugioh games that were out for other consoles and handheld. This game has unique animation for all the different cards in the game in addition to updated fields for each individual duels. It is particularly pleasing to see the cut scenes when a Rarer or TV featured Card attacks your opponents as you enter in an almost video sequence where you see your summoned monster attack and destroy the opponents weak monsters.The big detailed image of the cards in your hand on the left of the screen makes reading and accessing cards easy. The cut scenes of the different characters phases after each players turn is entertaining at first as you get to see your fav character dueling it out, however it does tend to add up time and prolong duels sometimes. However the characters are detailed and resemble the characters from the TV show at least.

Music:~~~~~~

The music could be better in this game. There is an assortment of tracks that cycle through each individual duel. At first its ok, but when you have played the game for 10's of hours, it does get a bit repetitive.

Tips:~~~~~~~

- Play against easy opponents to gain more cards both new and already owned ones. Then input these new cards into your deck to boost its power. It will make dueling much easier this way.- If you are stuck on a particular duel, it might be because your deck is weak against your opponents. Maybe try and alternative deck or switch out with your tag member- As noted earlier there are many staple cards in yugioh. I would list them all out if I had the time but there is a whole list and some work particularly well in certain decks. Your best bet is to search online. Yugioh Forums are a good place to start as players tend to swap tips and hints around with each other.- Learn the rules of the game properly. Without this basic knowledge, you are not going to be able to get through Duels easily. - Also learn combos and effects with different cards. A fun effect to use is with Penguin Soldier summoned face down in defense mode. Next turn if it is still on the field, flip it up and summon back one of your opponents monster card and your own penguin soldier so you can use it again. - Play around with you existing deck, the more you play with your deck, the more familiar you are to the cards in it and so you will be able to think up additional and varied strategies.- Keep the Deck limit to 40cards preferbly. As the less cards there are in a deck, the more chances of you drawing a particular card. - Do NOT put random cards in your deck because they are 'powerful' (by attack rating). Only put cards into your deck randomly if you are experimenting with it. It is not advised to put a card such as 'Blue Eyes White Dragon' just because its got lots of attack points and looks cool.

Summary:~~~~~~~~

All in All this edition of Yugioh is a very good start for the PSP version.

Firstly, the added flavour of the Tag elements expands Duels and stratgies along with great multiplayer functions. Link up with 3 other friends and play a 4 player tag team duel.

Secondly, the game flows really well. Each phase can be ended quickly and smoothly if needs be and the interphases between phases are fast and short (unlike earlier versions where changing to the next phase would literally take 10secs).

Thirdly, with the second and third edition of Yugioh Tag force already out (which has new feature and cards), it makes this earlier version cheaper. You can pick up a copy of this version from Amazon easily for under £15, while even from Ebay you could probably get one for under £10 if you look long and hard enough.

So with all this said, if you are a Yugioh Fan why not head out and grab yourself a copy and enjoy this mavelous world of cards and duels. If you don't fancy stepping out, just place a quick and easy order online and your be able to start playing within a few days.

This game is mainly aimed at the Yugioh Fans. However younger gamers will enjoy this title too. Its just takes some time getting used to the rules of dueling.

If you are not a card-based gamer, or you just hate Yugioh and any form of dueling etc. Then this game isn't for you. You would probably be better of looking at other titles as this isn't a game where you can just pick up and play.